I am an American, living and working in Germany for almost 4 years and dating a Ukrainian girl for the last 3 years. We were planning to marry the first week of May and I recently received a job offer in the United States (in my hometown). Now I started looking into how I can get both of us to America in time to not lose this job (have to start July 1st), I became very nervous and heartbroken reading all the information for processing times. Now I discovered the DCF option, which I believe applies in my case, and hope it is the answer to my worries.

My question is; Can I apply for the DCF in Frankfurt even though she is not a German, but a visa carrying resident of Germany? I have an unrestricted visa because I was married to a German and my fiancee is in Germany on a student visa which runs out at the end of June (another reason we are nervous).

I haven't been able to get anyone on the phone in order to discuss my case, they've mastered the art of avoidance and although I email detailed questions, the answers I receive are one or two words and don't do anything to offer me direction.


Any help or insight is appreciated!

I will answer at least part of my own question having now finally irritated the consulate enough with my emails that I was allowed to speak to someone

She said they don't care about the status of her (that she is Ukrainian), only that I qualify under their guidelines...which I clearly do having been resident here so long and actively working for a private company in Germany.

I know she wont be able to travel with my July 1st, but even if she is behind me by a couple months its better than the year or so I was being told when filing in the US. So glad I double checked my options.

Now I have to figure out what all I have to show we are the real deal. I have tons of pictures from the 3 years but we only just started living together (she was a student and stayed with me on weekends). We don't have a joint bank account here either but I guess I will change that now (we were just gonna wait until we got to America for stuff like that).

Is it possible to have a relative back home complete the I-864 already and send it so I can turn it in immediately with the I-130? I want to get as much done beforehand to not lose a single day.

Hi,

If my memory serves me correctly you should not file the I-864 at the same time as the I-130 rather your wife takes it with her to the Interview at the Embassy.

What some people have done in order to speed things up is to send in the initial paperwork I-130 G325a's etc then once receipt is acknowledged prepare the DS-230 and 2001 then send that in about six to eight weeks later this seems to help.

9'1"

Glad you got an answer!

My question is; Can I apply for the DCF in Frankfurt even though she is not a German, but a visa carrying resident of Germany? I have an unrestricted visa because I was married to a German and my fiancee is in Germany on a student visa which runs out at the end of June (another reason we are nervous).

You will have to wait until after the marriage to apply, and have all the appropriate marriage certificates, etc. We got that on the day of our marriage, not sure if other places take time to get that in hand after the wedding. Have you checked the timelines for DCF Germany? If she has to be out of Germany by the end of June, what will you do for an address to have papers delivered to, and how will she get to the Consulate for her interview? Our process was very quick - Feb. 6th for I-130 submission, April 3rd for Interview - not sure about Germany!

Are you working for a US company that you will continue to work for back in the US? If so, you may not need a co-sponsor. If you do need one, I would think getting the I-864 from your co-sponsor in early June would be pretty good timing. The I-864 is NOT submitted with the I-130, but in the packet of information reviewed by the Consulate. For the I-130, you will need to show that you are living together, but that wouldn't have to happen until after the marriage. Getting a joint bank account would be a good thing, it is good proof for the I-130....

Look through those docs and guides carefully, check out the Embassy website for details on I-130 processing - it should have a wealth of information for you! Good Luck and keep us posted, this is an interesting situation!

Here is the link for the I-130 steps:

http://germany.usembassy.gov/immediate_relatives_visa.html

And the post I-130 approval steps:

http://germany.usembassy.gov/visa/visaproc..._frankfurt.html